An advertisement?on QFII in Shanghai, on Sept 4, 2005. [Photo / Asianewsphoto]

SHANGHAI - BlackRock, the world's largest money manager, and Amundi, the asset management venture between Credit Agricole and Societe Generale , have been given the go-ahead by China's securities regulator to invest in China's capital markets through their subsidiaries, Reuters reported.

BlackRock Institutional Trust Company and Amundi Hong Kong Ltd have been granted Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) licences, bringing the total number of QFII investors to 115, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said in a statement on its website.

Global names such as Aberdeen Asset Management and Templeton Asset Management have already joined the QFII scheme, which was launched in 2003 as part of China's drive to gradually open its strictly-regulated capital markets.

BlackRock and Amundi still need to obtain investment quotas from China's foreign currency regulator before they can start buying Chinese stocks and bonds.

By the end of April, 103 licenced QFII investors had been granted a combined quota of $20.7 billion to invest in China's capital markets, a magnet to many foreign investors due to the country's rapid economic growth and appreciating currency.